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Jari-Matti Latvala coasts to win in Great Britain

Jari-Matti Latvala had a great showing in Great Britain and delivered Ford its first win since February. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Jari-Matti Latvala took his and Ford's first win since February on Rally Great Britain: an event that the 27-year-old Finn first contested 10 years ago, which he describes as “my second home rally.”

Latvala led from the third stage of the all-gravel event, eventually stretching his advantage to nearly half a minute by the finish in Cardiff.

“There was no particular thing that made a difference. We had a couple of good results going into this rally, which helped my confidence. I have a good feeling with this event anyway, and we also had a good test before the rally, with some new suspension adjustments,” said Latvala. “Put all those little things together and you end up with a good result. It's a huge relief for me to win again: it feels like it's been years.”

While the destination of the winner's trophy was clear-cut from the start, a huge battle raged for second place between Latvala's teammate Petter Solberg and Citroen driver Sebastien Loeb. Heading into the final Power Stage – which also counted for world championship points – the duo were separated by just 0.1 second. In the end Loeb got the better of his Norwegian rival, meaning that Solberg is now mathematically eliminated from the title race and that only Mikko Hirvonen can theoretically deprive Sebastien Loeb of a ninth title.

Loeb is set to clinch it on home territory in France at the next round in three weeks time, while Citroen is ready to claim an eighth manufacturers' title at home as well. But the most successful driver in the history of the sport admitted that he wasn't feeling entirely comfortable on the slippery Welsh stages last weekend. “You can't win everything. Jari-Matti was just too fast for me on this event,” said Loeb. “Maybe some people think that winning comes easy for me, but I'm pushing all the time.”

His Citroen team mate Mikko Hirvonen was struggling even more, saying that he couldn't quite get the set-up right until the final day, when he went quickest on the Power Stage, eventually finishing fifth overall behind Ford privateer Mads Ostberg, who continues to impress. “It's not the result that we came here looking for, but it's good to get some extra championship points,” concluded Hirvonen.

Returning to the championship after an eight-month lay-off due to lack of sponsorship was Matthew Wilson, the son of Ford team principal Malcolm Wilson. Despite his lack of recent experience, the Englishman finished eighth overall to score his first world championship points of the year. “When you've been away for so long, it makes you appreciate being back all the more,” he said. Wilson is hoping for another appearance on the season-closing Catalunya Rally in November.

Rally Great Britain normally marks the end of the season, but this year the British round of the World Rally Championship shifted to September for the first time since 2005. The result was warmer weather and faster stages, but Rally Great Britain remains an awesome challenge.